The inspection took place on 17 March 2017 and was announced.

The service is registered to provide care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, the service was providing care and support to 130 people.

A registered manager was in post when we inspected the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were happy with the support they received and felt safe with the staff supporting them. People knew the staff and felt comfortable with staff supporting them in their home. Staff understood how to protect people from harm and had undertaken training. The registered manager understood their obligations and was in contact with the local authority to discuss any concerns. Staff understood the risks to people’s health that people lived with and how to keep people safe. The registered manger included background checks of potential staff to understand whether they were suitable to work at the service. People’s support with medicines was reviewed by the registered manager to assure themselves that received the support they needed.

Staff had access to regular training and support and this helped staff better support people. Staff understood the importance of obtaining a person’s consent. The registered manager understood the requirements of the law and what action to take if they became concerned about a person’s ability to make decisions for themselves. People were supported to make choices in the meals and drinks staff prepared for them. Staff understood people’s dietary needs and how to support people to have healthy choices. People were supported to access additional medical help when this was required.

People liked the staff supporting them and felt at ease around them. People felt staff understood their needs and understood how to support them. Staff checked people were happy with the care and support they received and treated people with dignity and respect.

People’s care was reviewed and updated based on changing needs and circumstances. People were supported to express how they needed help and supported to provide feedback on the care.

The registered manager had systems in place for understanding people’s care needs. Regular review meetings with staff were all part of his system for monitoring and reviewing the quality of care people received. Staff described a positive and open environment to work within where they were able to access support and feedback on their performance.